Somebody Like You
by AnnieOwnsTheStreets
Summary: Barbie Blank is failing English. Phil Brooks is a literary genius. To help Barbie and to punish Phil, their English teacher forces him to tutor her so she can stay on the cheer squad and he doesn't get suspended...if only it were that easy. Punk/Kelly
1. Chapter 1

**Hey there! So, I've noticed a total lack of Punk/Kelly fics on this site (and everywhere) so I decided to try my hand at one. I have another wrestling story up, but for now I'm just focusing on this one. I really hope you guys like this story because I'm having so much fun writing it. I adore this pairing! If you have any comments, feel free to leave a review. Thanks for reading!**

In just one sentence uttered by her English teacher, Barbie Blank felt her world crashing down. She knew that this couldn't be good at all. While Barbie was a good student in most of her classes, English was her pitfall. She didn't like it and she didn't understand it. She couldn't. But she had a feeling she would have to.

"Barbie, can you see me after school?" Mrs. McMahon-Helmsley asked Barbie as the tall blonde tried to exit her class when the bell rang. Barbie had all but frozen completely.

"What? Why?" She was never asked to see teachers after class. She was a model student (mostly.) She was a good kid. She didn't have any reason to be seen after class. Barbie felt the eyes of classmates on her as they left. After all, why would a teacher ask to see Barbara Blank? What could the queen bee of the junior class possibly have done wrong?

Mrs. McMahon-Helmsley just gave her an unreadable grin. "Well, if you show up, then you'll find out. I'll be here until 2:45." Without another word, the English teacher excused her blonde student and sat down at her desk to prepare for her next class.

Barbie leaned up against the wall outside of her last class to gather her thoughts. Okay, so it couldn't be anything bad, because she hadn't done anything bad. Right? Even though the entire school was of the opinion that Mrs. McMahon-Helmsley was secretly a crazy psycho bitch, she was always rather nice to Barbie. Once, she even gave her an extra study guide to help her study for a test they had. Of course, Barbie had still failed, but it proved that her teacher wasn't out to get her. The blonde pushed everything from her mind and walked down the hall to her locker. After fiddling with her pink lock, she swung open the door and dropped her books in. Barbie fluffed up her blonde hair using the reflection in the mirror hanging on the door and then bent over to gather her Home Economics binder from the very bottom of her locker. When she stood up, she glanced in the mirror and screamed.

"Oh my God, Zack, you scared me!" She placed a French-manicured hand to her chest and tried to steady her breathing. Zack had snuck up behind her and she wasn't expecting to see his face in her mirror.

"Sorry, Barbs! I just wanted to tell you that you look really pretty today." He grinned, his orange-y skin making his bleach white teeth somehow seem even whiter. Barbie gave him a small smile.

"Thanks, Zack. That's so sweet." She closed her locker door and put the lock back on. Her back was to Zack and she wondered if he had walked away. She was proven wrong when she stood up straight and saw him still standing there, staring at her and smiling.

"Can I walk you to Home Ec, Barbie?" he asked. She couldn't say no. He was the sweetest guy and she would be heartless to shoot him down when he had such a big crush on her.

"Sure. Why not?" They started down the hallway, passing many of their fellow students. Barbie smiled and waved to her friends, which was practically everyone she passed. Some of them were laughing. Her smiled wavered a bit when she realized they were laughing at her for being with Zack. It was hardly a secret that he was in love with her.

Barbie's pace quickened once she realized this but Zack had no trouble keeping up. However, when they had almost reached the Home Ec room, they were stopped by a huge, towering figure.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the Dream Team! You know, Zack, you have gotta be out of your mind to think you can get with a girl like Barbie Blank." Zack looked up at his offender. Barbie tried to intervene but he held the blonde back with a toned, orange arm (most likely from too much spray tan.)

"You can fuck with me all you want, Orton, but leave Barbie out of this. She didn't do anything to you." Randy Orton's laugh boomed over the hallway. A crowd was gathering. Barbie put a nail in her mouth to chew at it nervously.

"What, do you think you're her knight in shining armor or something? Ryder, she doesn't even like you. You're pathetic." Zack didn't falter. The spray-tanned,spikey-haired junior opened his mouth to reply but a piercing voice cut through the air.

"_Excuse me_! _Excuse me_! Out of my way!" Mrs. Vickie Guerrero, assistant to the assistant principal and resident bitch appeared through the throng of students. She stopped in front of the trio and put her hands on her hips. "What do we have here? Did I hear correctly that there was a fight going on? Randy, as a senior, you should be setting an example for the other students!" She turned to Zack and pointed a claw-like finger at his face. "And you! You should know better!" Mrs. Guerrero finally turned to Barbie, who looked dumbfounded. "Barbie, I think you should get to class." It wasn't a suggestion. It was a command.

Barbie shuffled away, but not before looking as the two of them were dragged to the principal's office by Mrs. Guerrero. Barbie headed into Home Ec just as the bell rang, feeling guilty. She was upset that Zack was now in the office because of her and upset that she didn't do anything to defend him. However, she realized it was hard to do much of anything when a sex god like Randy Orton is staring down at you.

The pretty blonde sat down at her usual table, seated next to Rosa Mendes from the cheer squad, Rosa's boyfriend Epico, and the tiny AJ Lee. Barbie smiled and waved at all of them just as Miss Debra Marshall entered the class with a plate of yummy-looking cookies.

"Hi class!" she exclaimed. "Today you and your table mates are gonna whip up a batch of these great cookies. It's my own recipe!" AJ and Barbie looked at each other and stifled their laughs most unsuccessfully.

Home Ec, Barbie's last class, flew by so quickly that by the time her table had finished eating their cookies, it seemed like 15 minutes had gone by, not 50. When the bell rang, Barbie said goodbye to AJ and Primo and let Rosa know that she'd be at practice later that day. As the rest of the school buzzed around in the hallways, letting go of their end-of-the-day energy, she remembered that she had to go see Mrs. McMahon-Helmsley. The thought wiped the happy smile right off of her face and she trudged up to her locker. She placed her Home Ec binder in the locker and grabbed her bag. With one last look in her mirror (after making sure Zack wasn't there to scare her again), she locked up her locker for the day and headed up the hall towards the English classroom.

The door was shut so she knocked even though the door was half glass and she could see her teacher at her desk. The older woman looked up and gestured for Barbie to come in. The nervous blonde opened the classroom door and stepped inside.

"Hey Barbie. Thanks for coming." The English teacher shuffled some papers on her desk and set them aside, leaning forward with her hands clasped. "I called you in because I wanted to let you know that you're on the verge of failing my class for the semester." The cheerleader inwardly gasped. Sure, she knew that her grade had to be completely awful, considering how many of the tests she had bombed so far, but the possibility that she was failing never occurred to her.

"Oh...well...is there some extra credit I could do? Something that can help me?"

"Well, quite frankly, something has got to happen or you'll be kicked off the cheerleading team." Mrs. McMahon-Helmsley grinned at Barbie's awed look. "Yes, believe it or not, some teachers have lives outside of school. My husband, daughters and I go to the football games. I've seen you and some other students of mine. Anyway," she continued, "you're in luck. See Barbie, I'm the kind of teacher that really likes when her students try hard to succeed. You're one of those students. You do all of your homework and you complete my study guides. You just have trouble with my tests. However, I'm also the kind of teacher that doesn't take kindly to lazy students. One student of mine in particular is rather frustrating. He's a literary genius without trying, but that's just it – he doesn't try. At all. This person has not completed one homework assignment all year."

"That's...not good." Barbie wasn't sure of what else to say. She had no idea of what this lazy student had to do with her. Were teachers even allowed to talk about students to other students like this?

"No, it's not. I hand out detentions to him left and right but they don't seem to be doing anything. In fact, I'd go as far as say he likes detention. So I'm shifting gears a little bit." The brunette's face was absolutely glowing then. It was almost like she had rehearsed this speech. On second thought, she probably had. "Instead of detention, I'm giving him a new punishment. You are his punishment. He will be tutoring you from now until your English midterm. If he doesn't help you get at least a 90 on my midterm, which is what you need to pass, then I'm suggesting to my superiors that he gets suspended. And let's just say I have a lot of influence up there."

Barbie was starting to think that her fellow students were right. Maybe Mrs. McMahon-Helmsley really was secretly a psycho bitch.

"Um...that's great. Really great. Thank you. So um...who is my new tutor?" Barbie was very, very wary. It could be anyone. Maybe it was Randy Orton. That wouldn't be so bad.

"Do you know Phillip Brooks?" the teacher asked, leaning back in her chair. Barbie scanned her thoughts for a minute. Of course she knew Phil Brooks. He had greasy hair, a beard and tattoos. He was hard to miss.

"I know of him."

"Fantastic. You guys can set up your own study sessions. If you have any problems, let me know." Mrs. McMahon-Helmsley turned her attention towards her computer and started clicking away. "You can go now, Barbie. Have a good day." Barbie wanted to say something back, but her mouth was dry and the words were stuck in her throat. She turned and exited through the door that she had left open just moments ago. She saw someone was walking up to the door.

It was Phil Brooks. Their eyes locked for a moment and he looked at her curiously. He didn't know about this new set up. He was probably called in by Mrs. McMahon-Helmsley just like she had been. She broke their gaze and hurried to the front doors to get to cheer practice, her heart pounding the entire time.

Something told Barbie that these tutoring sessions wouldn't go quite as planned.

* * *

**And there it is! I hope you liked it. Thank you for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey again! I definitely didn't expect to update so quickly, but I just adore this story so much that I'm typing it faster than I can keep up with! Haha. Thank you for my two lovely reviewers, who were so sweet. And big thanks to everyone who favorited and alerted. It means so much and I'm glad you liked the first chapter. Here's hoping you like the second!**

The look that Barbie's sister was giving her just solidified the blonde's fears that her failing English was the worst thing that could happen today.

"You're failing _English_? Do you not realize that English is your NATIVE LANGUAGE? How am I even related to a dumbass like you?" Charlene Blank, a freshman at the high school, was not one to hide her feelings. She was standing at the kitchen island when Barbie had come home, sweaty and tired from cheerleading practice. Michelle McCool, the senior team captain, really liked making her team suffer. Especially the juniors.

"Shut up, Char. This is so bad. If Mom and Dad find out, I'll probably live in a box in an alley downtown. So you better keep your fat mouth shut about this." The blonde was far too exhausted to play nice with her little sister. The younger girl flicked a brown curl over the shoulder and adjusted her headband.

"Whatever, I'm not gonna say anything. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't. If they find out from someone other than you, then Mom's foot will go so far up your ass that your grandkids will feel it. So either raise your grade or face the wrath." Unfortunately, Barbie knew that Charlene was right. The blonde sat down at the island and put her chin on the table. She just wanted five or ten minutes to wallow in self pity.

"My teacher is making me get tutored. It's her sadistic little experiment or something." The blonde was too upset to feel guilty for talking behind her teacher's back. She knew that this was geared to help Barbie, but it felt more like a punishment for her than for Phil Brooks.

"That's retarded," Charlene retorted. Barbie gave her a warning look – she didn't like that word and Charlene was constantly told off by their mother for using it. "What? Do you see Mom anywhere? No. Retarded, retarded, retarded. I can say it all I want. Anyway, who has the unfortunate job of trying to help you pass?"

"You probably don't know him. His name is Phil Brooks. He's a senior."

"Never heard of him. Well, good luck. I'm gonna go put on this new self tanner I bought and then go to Heath's house." The younger Blank sister skipped out of the room and went upstairs, leaving Barbie by herself in the kitchen. She grabbed a banana from the fruit bowl just as her phone started vibrating in her pocket. Barbie pulled it out and looked at the screen.

**Eve Torres**

Michelle is fucking insane. I may actually be paralyzed. Now that I'm studying Jiu-Jitsu I'm going to beat her up!

She laughed and sent a text back, agreeing with her best friend. Michelle was really hard on the juniors this year. Even the sophomores got off easier than the eleventh graders. When Michelle had been named squad captain this year, she made it clear that they would be going to Regionals in the spring and anyone who was holding the team back would be kicked off. The Michael S. Hickenbottom Chins cheerleaders hadn't gone to Regionals since 2004, so Barbie thought Michelle had her hopes set just a little too high. But Barbie loved cheering so she wasn't planning on doing anything that would turn Michelle on her.

Eve and Barbie made plans with fellow juniors the Bella twins, Nikki and Brie, to go out for ice cream that evening. Barbie's mother, Mrs. Connie Blank, walked through the front door just as her eldest daughter was leaving.

"Where are you going? Is Charlene home?" her mother asked.

"I'm going out for ice cream. Charlene's at Heath's house." Mrs. Blank scowled at the mention of Charlene's annoying ginger boyfriend.

"I really don't like that boy. Well, have fun, I guess. Be home by nine please, you know how your father gets when you girls aren't home when he gets back from work." Barbie nodded and slung her purse up on her shoulder, stepping over the threshold to get to the driveway. "Oh! Barbie! I almost forgot."

_Please don't be about English, please don't be about English,_ she prayed silently to whatever God was up there listening.

"Here's $10, you deserve it. You're such a good girl, Barbie." Connie handed her a crisp bill, probably fresh from the credit union where she was a teller, and kissed her daughter on the cheek. Then she closed the door, leaving Barbie alone on the porch, holding a $10 bill that she'd neither earned nor deserved. _Girls who fail English aren't good girls. Girls who fail English don't deserve ice cream money._

The blonde tucked the money into her wallet and got out the key to her black 2011 Lincoln MKS. After a good minute of fiddling with the radio, she pulled out of her driveway and drove towards town, singing along to the songs that played.

She met Eve and the Bella twins inside the ice cream shop and sat down at their usual table by the window. They talked, mostly about Michelle McCool and the cheerleading team. In fact, the discussion with Mrs. McMahon-Helmsley from after school was completely pushed from her mind, until she noticed a certain someone standing on the sidewalk outside.

It was Phil Brooks, of course. He was standing with his arms crossed, talking to a group of guys. They were all leaning up against the shop. Some of them were smoking, but she noticed that he wasn't. The blonde couldn't help but notice that up close, he looked, well... decent. Maybe more than decent. Her new tutor was glancing around in a bored manner, never lingering on one spot too long. He looked through the window into the restaurant and saw Barbie staring. He grinned down at her and she looked away quickly, suddenly intimidated by him.

"Well, I'm gonna go. I have some Trig homework to do." Eve Torres stood up and tossed away her napkin and the styrofoam cup that her frozen yogurt had been served in. The other three stood up, too. The cheerleaders exchanged hugs and walked out into the parking lot.

_Be cool. Walk fast. Do not acknowledge him_, Barbie coached herself as she walked past Phil and his friends. She stepped down from the sidewalk and hurried.

"BARBIE!" he called. She turned and looked, trying to ignore the curious glances that her fellow cheerleaders were giving her. After all, what would some degenerate like Brooks want with a girl like Barbie Blank? "I'll see you around," he smirked at her. She flushed and got into her car, speeding off before Eve or Nikki or Brie could ask any questions. All she wanted to do was go home, fall asleep, and realize that today was just a horrible nightmare.

She didn't get her wish.

* * *

Barbie woke up the next morning to the frantic pounding on her bedroom door. She was immediately sure that it was Charlene. This was affirmed when the younger girl started screaming.

"Get up, you lazy piece of crap! You have to drive me to school because Heath's truck broke down! Let's GO!" she shouted. With an angry shove of her blankets, she stomped out of bed and ripped open the door.

"Sure, why not insult me? That'll make me want to drive you!" Barbie yelled back. Charlene stomped away from the door and went down the stairs. The older girl sighed and closed her bedroom door, deciding that it was time to get ready. She put on her favorite purple sundress and a denim jacket and brushed her light blonde hair. After putting on some makeup, she grabbed her school bag and purse and rushed downstairs. She was already running late.

"You are literally the slowest person alive. I ate your toast because you decided to take twelve years to put on a freaking dress," Charlene snapped. She grabbed her lime green bookbag and went outside, slamming the front door shut as she left.

"What is her problem?" Barbie asked her father, who was sitting at the table watching the news. Mr. Norman Blank was a Creative Writing and Medieval Literature professor at the local university. Since he taught both morning and evening classes, he was really only home in the early morning. Barbie cherished the time she had with him.

"Do we ever really know when it comes to Charlene? She's strange. It comes with the territory." He stood up and kissed Barbie on the forehead. "Have a good day, Barbs. Have fun at cheerleading." The blonde girl waved and sprinted out the door that Charlene had just left through moments ago. The brunette was sitting in the passenger seat of the Lincoln already. She didn't even wait until Barbie had sat down to start bitching again.

"Hurry up! The bell's gonna ring in five minutes. You're such a lazy bitch. No wonder you're failing English." Barbie turned in her seat and had to resist slapping her little sister across the face.

"Do you want a ride or not?" The blonde snapped and turned the key in the ignition and backed out of the driveway. She sped the entire way to school and not a word was exchanged between them. The Blank sisters had their differences, but they hardly ever fought. She hated when they did.

Barbie had hardly parked the car before Charlene got out and whipped the door shut. Barbie decided to watch and see what her little sister would do. Her blonde eyesbrows raised when she watched Charlene stomp over to Heath Slater and immediately start yelling at him in the courtyard. A quick scan of the parking lot proved that Heath had actually drove to school in his black Toyota, it wasn't broken at all. The only thing that broke her out of her reverie was her stomach growling. Barbie gathered her bags and exited her car before walking towards the front doors.

She waved to several people, all the while her stomach was grumbling from her lack of a breakfast. She decided that school breakfast sounded pretty good right now, so she went into the cafeteria and got in line. Breakfast was never as crowded as lunch, but she was surprised at the amount of people there this morning. The tall blonde picked up a blueberry muffin and got to the register.

"That's $1.90," the cafeteria worker told her. The cheerleader got out her wallet and frowned when she saw the $10 bill from last night. She had felt too guilty to use it to buy ice cream, but that was the only money she had this morning. She pulled it out and handed it over. The lady with the hairnet gave her the $8.10 in change and checked out the student behind Barbie.

Should she sit down and eat or eat on the way to her locker? She knew that if anyone, especially Mrs. Guerrero, saw her eating in the hallway, she would probably get detention, so she sat down at an empty table and opened up the wrapping of her muffin. A quick look at the clock told her that she had three minutes to get to homeroom, so she broke her breakfast in half and shoved a piece in her mouth.

"Hey, princess," someone said behind her. She closed her eyes and prayed that she had just imagined it. When she opened them, she saw Phil Brooks sitting beside her. She chewed quickly and swallowed.

"Hi, Phil," she greeted. Normally she would sound happy, but after the argument with her sister and how unpredictable she imagined Phil to be, happy was the last emotion she was feeling. "Why did you call me princess?" she asked warily.

"Because that's what you are. You're a Barbie doll cheerleader princess." She knew it wasn't meant to sound so sadistic, but it annoyed her anyway. She jumped up and tossed the rest of her muffin in the trash. She made the move to stomp out of the cafeteria but he stopped her. "Hey! I'm kidding. Pull the stick out of your ass, Barbie. Look, I doubt you want these tutoring sessions to happen anymore than I do, but unless you want to fail your class then we'd better get started. The last thing I want is for that psychotic bitch to suspend me." She wanted to tell him off for making fun of Mrs. McMahon-Helmsley, but she couldn't muster up the courage.

"Fine. When should we start?"

"Are you free after school?" he asked.

"No, sorry. I have cheerleading practice until five." He gave her a little grin.

"Of course you do. How about tomorrow?" Barbie nodded and mulled it over.

"That's good for me. I don't have practice on Wednesdays or Thursdays."

"So Wednesdays and Thursdays in the library. I guess it's a date then, huh?" Before Barbie could think of something to say, he was already walking away. She pressed the heels of her palms into her eyes and groaned. There was no doubt in her mind that Phil Brooks was going to drive her insane.

* * *

"Barbie, I would like to talk to you," Maryse said to Barbie during third period French class. Barbie and Maryse were friendly, but weren't best friends. Maryse was also on the cheerleading team, and she definitely looked the part with long, bleach blonde hair, a tan figure and long legs. The only thing imperfect about her was that her accent was hard to understand...and she was a major gossip.

"Okay," Barbie nodded.

"I saw your sister and her boyfriend arguing outside of the school this morning. They were really...going at it."

"Yeah, I know. She's weird like that. And everyone knows that Heath is a piece of work," Barbie shrugged and packed up her books. The bell would ring any second.

"I also saw you talking to that greasy looking senior. Don't they call him Punk?"

"Maybe. I don't really know." She did not want to have this conversation, especially with a gossip like Maryse Ouellet. With her luck, rumors about her and Phil Brooks would be all over school by 8th period thanks to Maryse if she continued talking. The bell rang and Barbie left the room and went upstairs. Just as she reached the top of the stairwell, she was greeted by Zack.

"Hey Barbie!" Zack exclaimed. Barbie mustered up a small smile.

"Hi Zack. How are you?"

"I'm great, Barbie. About yesterday, I sorted Randy out. He won't bother you again." Somehow, Barbie didn't count on that. Randy Orton had a way of always showing up somewhere...not that she minded. He was the hottest guy in school.

"Thanks, Zack. I appreciate it. What did Mrs. Guerrero do to you when you went to the office?" She still felt a little guilty that she wasn't punished even though she had sat back and watched the whole thing happen.

"I have detention today after school. But it's not big deal, I did it for you." He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, a cheek that flushed crimson. For God's sake, people were watching! Eve was walking down the hallway at the time and the Latina's mouth dropped open in shock.

"I have to get to class, Zack," Barbie muttered when he stopped. She hurried away, past her laughing classmates and up to Eve. Eve's hand was up to her mouth in shock.

"Did that just happen? Did I just imagine that?" Eve whisper-shrieked. She turned around and her and Barbie hurried through the hallway. "Is he insane?"

"God, he's so sweet and it's really flattering that he likes me. But I _don't_ like him!" The blonde moaned ill-temperedly. When they ended up at Barbie's locker, she dumped her books in and sighed. "I just don't know how to let him down easy without hurting his feelings."

"Just do it. Be like 'Zack, I do not like you. You are not Randy Orton and never will be. Sayonara, _bro,_'" Eve suggested while shrugging. The blue-eyed blonde just shook her head.

"No way. That'd be horrible. Anyway, let's get to lunch. I've gotta tell Maryse to not tell anyone about this; I'm sure she's already heard all about it." And Barbie was right. Maryse was standing at the table, staring like a hawk at the doors to the cafeteria. Once Barbie and Eve walked in, the French Canadian exchange student marched up to them.

"Barbie, please do not tell me that you are dating _Zack Ryder_. He is such a loser." She looked at Barbie expectantly and crossed her arms over her large chest.

"I'm not! And don't go telling people that!" Barbie exclaimed. She knew that Maryse would've heard about it already. In fact, she was probably behind Barbie on the stairs when it had happened.

"I was not planning on it," Maryse said. "I'm embarrassed for you. It's already around school that he kissed you."

Barbie didn't respond or bother to correct her. Instead, she got into the lunch line with Eve, ignoring the stares of her fellow students. Eve told off some nosy freshman who came up and asked Barbie about Zack. The Latina was still yelling even as he retreated to the back of the line.

"Calm down, Eve. You don't want your panties in a twist." It was a slick voice, a voice that was becoming all too familiar to Barbie Blank.

"Shut up, Punk, or I'll make you shut up," Eve grinned.

"How? By backing into my mailbox again? Please do, that was probably the funniest thing that I've ever witnessed. Even my mom was on the verge of tears."

"You two _know_ each other?" Barbie blurted out before she could stop herself. The two others looked at her.

"Duh, he's my neighbor. He lives in the brick house across the street," Eve clarified. Barbie knew instantly which one she meant. She had been over Eve's house several times before.

"Oh," Barbie replied lamely. She waited for him to say something about their new arrangement but he said nothing...almost like he knew that she didn't want Eve to know about her English troubles. Maybe he did know.

Barbie realized he did when he threw a wink at her when no one was looking.

Eve and Barbie got their lunch trays and walked up to the table. Michelle McCool, cheer captain, was waiting for them. Her ever-faithful cronies Layla and Alicia were sitting on either side of her.

"Barbie," Michelle started, "we need to talk." Barbie set her tray down and slowly sat in her seat. _This can't be good_.

"Okay." She hardly noticed Eve sit beside her.

"Are you going out with Zack Ryder?" Michelle grilled the fellow blonde, leaning over her chef salad. "Because I can't allow that to happen. Remember The List, Barbie. Think about it." The List was a list of off-limits guys that Michelle had compiled in the beginning of the year. Besides obvious guys like Michelle's boyfriend Dolph Ziggler and Layla's crush John Cena, it also contained the name of every guy that Michelle considered to be a loser and detrimental to the reputation of the cheer squad. Zack Ryder was on that list. So was Heath Slater, oddly enough.

"I am _not_ going out with him. I don't like him so don't worry about it." This school was unbelievable. Word spread like wildfire, even in just minutes. Although if anyone knew anything, it would be Maryse and Michelle.

"If you're sure," Michelle sing-songed in her southern accent. Without another word, she started eating her salad. Suddenly Barbie wasn't as hungry as she was that morning. She glanced to her left and saw Phil Brooks across the cafeteria, watching her with that wide grin of his. She gave him a weak smile and started to pick at her lunch uncomfortably. She felt the stares of her classmates on her, and she knew all of them were wondering the same thing. But she wasn't too concerned about Zack. She was more concerned about her first tutoring session, tomorrow in the library.

**HOLY CRAP I did not expect it to be that long! But what can I say? Just a few things I want to discuss. I thought it was funny how Barbie thought there would be rumors about her and Phil but the rumors were actually about her and Zack. Kind of makes you wonder if Barbie WANTED them to be about Phil? Just kidding! Also, isn't Charlene a bitch? Nah, there's just trouble in paradise with her and Heath. I love Charlene so much and I hope you guys do, too. Thanks for reading and I hope you like it!**

**-Annie**

**(P.S. Just putting this out there- I don't own ANYTHING!)**


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm back! This summer was SO crazy and I had so much going on that updating was the last thing on my mind. But Monday is the start of school (ew) and I'm going to be a junior in high school (double ew) and I'll have tons of work, including SATs and state assessments and other fun things (triple and quadruple ew). But fear not, I will keep updating! Which reminds me, I had an inquiry about the American high school system. A lot of you guys aren't from the US so I'll try to break it down!**

_**Freshmen**_ are the youngest in high school, typically 14 or 15 years old. Charlene Blank is a freshman.

_**Sophomores**_are the second youngest grade, and are usually 15 turning 16. Heath Slater and Rosa Mendes are sophomores in the story, for example.

_**Juniors**_ are the second oldest grade and are 16 or 17 years old. Most of the characters you'll see here are juniors, including Barbie, Eve, Maryse, Zack, AJ, etc. etc.

Finally, _**Seniors**_ are the oldest students in the school. They're typically 17 or 18 years old. Punk, Michelle, Randy, Cena and Layla are some seniors you'll see.

**And without further ado, here is chapter three...**

Later that day, Barbie changed into Soffe shorts and a school T-shirt for practice in the girls' locker room. She took her phone with her and left the school through a back door and started the trek down to the football field. It wasn't often that the cheerleaders got to use the football field, but it was a nice surprise when they did. When she only saw Michelle on the field, she checked the time on her phone. Typically by now the entire team was down there talking.

Michelle smiled when she saw Barbie walk onto the turf.

"Hey Barbie. I told the team to come fifteen minutes late." She was swinging a stopwatch around on her finger.

"Oh, I didn't hear about that," Barbie replied, surprise etched on her face. Michelle laughed a humorless laugh.

"You weren't supposed to. You're going to run laps for twenty minutes." She held her hand up, silencing Barbie before she could even protest. "You defaced the reputation of the cheer squad today and disrespected the sacredness of The List. I think laps are the least you could do, Barbara."

"Are you joking?" Barbie exclaimed, hands on her hips. Michelle had to be kidding. She didn't even do anything. Why was she getting a ridiculous punishment? "You can't make me run laps because Zack Ryder kissed me on the cheek." Michelle closed the distance between them and stared down at the junior.

"Fine. Then you're off the squad." She stepped back, basking in Barbie's disgusted expression. "Well, go on then. You're no longer a Chin cheerleader. You have no reason to be on this turf." Barbie turned slowly and started into a jog around the track. "That's what I thought!" the captain yelled after her. All Barbie could think about was choking Michelle with a pompom and her stupid List and she used her anger to fuel her run. Fifteen minutes passed and she saw the rest of the team coming down from the school. When they reached the track, Barbie slowed to a walk and started towards Eve and the Bellas.

"Hey Barb!" Nikki exclaimed, waving. Barbie waved back.

"Blank, did I tell you to stop running? I said twenty minutes. Now I guess you have to start over," Michelle said, feigning sympathy. Practically the entire team gave Michelle nasty glares, but none with as much fury as Barbie herself. She continued running, wondering why she didn't just run over and kick Michelle's head off of her neck. The image of Michelle's head rolling across the football field convinced her to keep going.

She was on the eighth lap when she noticed the football team coming down to the track, led by Coach Laurinaitis. As much as she wanted to slow down and learn what was going on, she knew that Michelle would just make her start over. She watched as Michelle strutted over to the football players and started giving them attitude. _Who would've thought_.

When Barbie had reached the entrance where everyone was crowded, Michelle told the junior to stop. She slowed down, out of breath.

"What's going on?" she asked Eve.

"Laurinaitis says they had the turf booked even though I watched Michelle ask Mrs. Guerrero if we could have it two weeks ago. But of course they'll get it, because football runs this damn place," Eve spat. She watched as Michelle and Laurinaitis argued heatedly. Leave it to Michelle McCool to argue with a faculty member.

"Ladies, there's a simple way to settle this," Randy Orton spoke up, taking off his helmet. "You girls can go dance over on the soccer field and we get the turf." The entire cheerleading team protested this immediately.

"Absolutely not. We have the turf. Go lift weights or something, boys," Michelle retorted. As much as Barbie resented Michelle for being a bitch, she couldn't deny that she was completely devoted and loyal to the team.

"We can share the turf," John Cena exclaimed, annoyed. "We'll split it down the fifty yard line. We're just doing training today anyway."

"That's a great idea, John," Layla El agreed immediately. Eve cocked an eyebrow at this and crossed her arms over her chest. Although this wasn't what anybody wanted, it seemed to be the only choice. Michelle nodded and yelled at her squad to go start warming up. Randy reached out and grabbed Barbie's shoulder before she ran off.

"Hey Barbie. A little birdie told me that you're going out with that orange dick Ryder. Please tell me that isn't true." He gave her a dazzling smile and she just gave him a very pathetic one in return.

"It's not, Randy." She played with the ends of her ponytail. "I'm single," she added. He leaned down to her and Barbie swore that his teeth were actually sparkling.

"Good." Then he removed his hand from her shoulder and jogged off with the rest of the football team, catching up to Cena. She turned and saw Eve staring at her, mouthing '_What was that_?' Barbie just shrugged with a grin and started her warm ups.

* * *

The blonde junior got home at about five that night. Michelle had even tortured her during practice, even though Barbie had ran the laps as her punishment. Apparently that wasn't good enough for Michelle McCool, because she made Barbie a spotter even though the younger cheerleader had no upper arm strength and was a flyer. She spotted for Rosa Mendes, who had lost her balance and fell directly onto Barbie. Now she felt nothing but major pain in her legs and lower back.

"I HATE MICHELLE MCCOOL!" she screamed as she entered her home and threw her bag on the floor. "I HATE HER!" Charlene peeked her head out from the doorway of the kitchen.

"You don't say," the younger Blank said with a grin.

"Oh, what? Are you going to freak out on me for no reason again? Go ahead, I doubt this day could get any worse!" The blonde kicked her school bag down the stairs with such force that it hit the basement door with a loud bang.

"I was _going_ to apologize for bitching out today, but you're a little preoccupied at the moment." Barbie sighed and tried to compose herself, without much success, before going up the stairs to the kitchen. Charlene was at the island, assembling a turkey sandwich. There was a second sandwich, ham and American cheese on rye with mustard – Barbie's favorite.

"Wow. Thanks, Char," the blonde said and sat down on a stool to start eating.

"This is my apology to you. It's just that last night Heath called me and said some dumb shit and I got pissed, so I took it out on you this morning when I realized I didn't have a ride to school because he was being a colossal piece of shit." The brunette took a bite of her sandwich and then swallowed. "So I'm sorry."

"It's fine. What did he say to you that made you so mad anyway?" The older girl asked, already half finished with her ham sandwich. She figured she had been so mad at Michelle and at today in general that she didn't even realize she was so hungry. In a strange display of hesitation, Charlene opened her mouth before shaking her head.

"It's nothing. It was so stupid that even talking about it will make me lose brain cells."

"Um, okay. Well, if you need to talk, then I'm here. Unless I'm put in jail for slaughtering Michelle, which will probably happen sooner rather than later."

"That girl is the Bitch Queen. She rules Bitchtopia. She wins the Bitch Olympics every four years. Someone needs to smack her." Charlene shoved the rest of her sandwich in her mouth and threw her plate away. She didn't even bother to clean up the bread and lunch meats before heading towards the hallway. "Oh yeah. Can I get a ride home tomorrow? I have to take my Physical Science project home and I refuse to take it on the bus."

"Can't, sorry. I have English tutoring after school in the library. Unless you wanna wait until five..." Barbie offered.

"I'd rather die, thanks. I'll just walk home." And then she was gone. Barbie threw her plate away and got to work cleaning up her sister's mess. She had been so consumed by her thoughts of her horrible day that she had completely forgotten about her first tutoring session tomorrow. She didn't know what to make of it. None of her friends knew that she needed a tutor, let alone that she was failing a class. She wanted to keep it that way.

* * *

Wednesday at school had completely blown by. Barbie thought that maybe the rumors of her and Zack would've died over night, but if anything they just got more widespread. She thought she had even heard Mrs. Guerrero talking to Mrs. Marshall about it. Home Economics was finally over, but Barbie stayed late with AJ Lee to clean up their kitchen area. It had been pretty much ruined while their group attempted to make a pizza during class.

"I've got it, AJ. You don't have to waste your time here," Barbie offered. AJ was drying off a baking pan.

"If you're sure! I take the bus and I don't want to be late..." the small brunette girl said.

"It's fine. I have to stay after school anyway, so I can finish this. See you!" She waved and continued washing the dishes. In reality she was just wasting time so that she wouldn't have to get to the library right away. _Why are you even worried about this? It's going be fine. Phil Brooks seems nice, _she thought. After five minutes, she had completely cleaned up her group's mess. She gathered her books and headed up to her locker. Barbie was getting her English book when Charlene walked down the hallway with a tall girl who sported blonde and black hair.

"I got a ride, Barbs. I'll see you at home. Good luck!" her younger sister called. Barbie closed her locker and braced herself before walking down the hallway to the library. When she walked in, she saw only one occupied table. Sitting at it, of course, was her infamous black-haired, hazle-eyed, tattooed-and-bearded tutor.

"I thought you got lost," he greeted her and reclined back in his seat.

"Sorry. I was cleaning up after Home Ec," she replied, now flushing pink. She put her book on the table and sat down across from him. "So, um, this is my English book."

"I can see that." He was smirking. She looked out the window, at a bookshelf, anywhere that wasn't at him. "What is your class working on now?" She reached out for her book and opened it to a page that she had marked.

"Well, we just finished The Tragedy of Julius Caesar."

"And how was that?"

"Um, fine," she lied, 'forgetting' to mention that she had failed the unit test. "But now we're doing The Sun Also Rises." Barbie pointed at the title page of the story that easily took up half of her English text book. The size alone daunted her. Of course she had heard about The Sun Also Rises, but she had no idea what it was even about. She was sure she wouldn't understand even if she had knowledge of its premise.

"Hemingway." Phil Brooks seemed pleased about this. "Your typical alcoholic waste of space who happened to know how to manipulate his ideas into a decent story. And a few pieces of nonfiction, too."

Barbie wasn't sure if she should say anything.

"Mrs. McMahon-Helmsley loves Hemingway, so she'll probably draw out this story for your class until about Easter. Maybe longer. She's obsessed." He paused and laughed at her shocked face. "I'm kidding. Get a grip. Lighten up."

"I can't lighten up!" Barbie snapped, slamming her fists down on the library table. "I need to pass English or I'm off the cheerleading team, and I refuse to let Michelle McBitch have the satisfaction. She already tried to kick me off because this stupid school thinks I'm going out with stupid Zack Ryder who is on her stupid List! So no, I won't lighten up." She groaned and put her face down on the glossy wood finish.

"Should I leave you alone with your self pity or am I alright here?" he asked her, enjoying this way too much. He liked Barbie Blank just fine; it was no secret that she was one of the most gorgeous girls at the school. He found that he liked her even more when she was angry. He didn't think she had it in her to freak out. She was always too reserved, too composed, too... well, princess-like. Like a pageant queen.

"I'm so sorry. I'm not like this at all, normally. It's just been an awful week and I'm taking it out on you." Her words were muffled, as her face was up against the table. After a moment, Barbie sat up straight and pulled her English book close. "Okay. Let's do this. I want to know this story inside and out."

And so they began. The older boy gave her a short summary; the book followed a group of people, some friends and some acquaintances, after World War I. Even though the war is hardly ever mentioned, it still shines as a major theme that has affected almost everyone mentioned.

"So it's a war story," Barbie stated.

"No."

"But you just said it's about World War I."

Phil rolled his eyes. "Are you deaf? The war is barely even talked about. It just looms over everything. It's sort of a twisted romance."

"You said _nothing_ about romance!"

"You interrupted me!" he exclaimed, bewildered. This girl was going to be a handful, and he knew it. What did he get himself into? Oh, right; technically he didn't get himself into anything. Mrs. McMahon-Helmsley forced him into this instead of suspension. "Anyway, the narrator is this guy named Jake. And you want to hate him because he's sort of a douche but you're supposed to feel bad because...well, you'll find out. The main female character is Lady Brett Ashley. She's hot, sought after, divorced, engaged, and a huge slut. Basically she sleeps with almost everyone, including a barely legal bull fighter."

"Oh," Barbie replied lamely. She was surprised to hear him say slut. It seemed foreign to her. "So is she engaged to Jake, even though she... sleeps with other people?"

"No, they're not engaged, but they're in love. She's engaged to another character named Mike, who is basically a professional alcoholic. Everyone in this book is a professional alcoholic, actually. Mike is just a dick about it. So everyone is in love with Brett, but some more than others."

The blonde tried to process all of this, but frankly it was difficult without reading the book. She figured she would read tonight so she could get a headstart before her class did. She grabbed her notebook and started writing as he spoke. When she had written down everything, she read it over out loud."So Brett is the main girl. And she sleeps around, even though she's engaged. And Jake is the main guy. And they love each other? Even though she's engaged to Mike?"

"It's kind of fucked up. You'll see soon enough," he told her. "There's also a Jew named Robert that everyone resents, but he's in love with Brett."

"It sounds like _everyone_ is in love with her. But if she loves Jake then why isn't she just with him?" Barbie was so confused. This sounded like the most ridiculous book ever.

"I guess you'll find out if you read it! I'm just giving you background here." Phil looked at the clock on the wall and stood up. "Well, read the first few chapters and we'll go more in depth tomorrow. However, some of us have jobs and my shift happens to start in ten minutes."

Barbie blinked. "What? Aren't we supposed to be here until five?" That's what she thought, anyway.

"Damn, I didn't know we had a schedule. If I did, I would've brought my planner and penciled you in." He gave her a slick grin and headed towards the door. "See you tomorrow, Princess."

And he was gone. Barbie exhaled a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding and absentmindedly slid her notebook inside her textbook to bookmark the story. He was just so... _cool_. And smart. But nonetheless infuriating. Maybe she could learn to like these tutoring sessions.

**Yeah! I love these two, oh my God. Absolutely adore them. I hope you all liked this chapter! For anyone who hasn't read The Sun Also Rises, um...spoiler alert. I'll try not to spoil it too bad but it is going to be a part of the story. Thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey everyone! If anyone still reads this, anyway! I know it's been eons since I've updated last, but I figured what better way to celebrate NaNoWriMo than to update! Just a few things:**

**I hope everyone is alright after the devastation that Hurricane Sandy caused last week. I myself lost power for a few days, but that was nothing compared to what my neighbors in New Jersey and New York are dealing with right now. I hope you're all alright!**

**I was SO INCREDIBLY SHOCKED when I heard that Barbie left the WWE! I may have cried a little...okay, so I totally didn't cry but I felt like it. I'll definitely miss having her around, and even though Kelly Kelly is no more, this story will still live on!**

**So here is Chapter 4! Happy NaNoWriMo, guys!**

Wednesday afternoon after Barbie's tutoring session had been pretty calm. She had holed herself up in her room to begin reading The Sun Also Rises so that she could get a hard start. All she wanted to do was pass English, and to do that, she needed to know this book inside and out.

So it kind of annoyed her when Eve called and begged her to join her at the gym. As much as the blonde would've loved to just stay in and for once have a low-key night, her constant need to please everyone around her forced her to accept. Even though Eve was her best friend, she didn't want to let her down by saying no. After telling Eve she'd meet her there, Barbie changed, grabbed her book, and left for the gym.

"I hate how the guy is never the father. Like switch it up just one time and have someone be the father!" The auburn-haired, tall cheerleader exclaimed from her position on a treadmill. Her green eyes were transfixed on one of the TVs, which was showing a closed-captioned rerun of Maury. "Right?"

"Uh huh," Barbie murmured from beside her on an elliptical. She was too involved in the book to listen to a word Eve had just said; she was already on chapter three of The Sun Also Rises and didn't want to stop. Especially to watch some poor excuse of a daytime TV show.

"And honestly, if you admit to sleeping with four guys and none of them are the father of your child, I think you need to reevaluate your life and your choices. And you probably shouldn't go on Maury."

"I don't know," Barbie responded robotically. She flipped a page and was thrilled to see that she had reached chapter four. Eve turned her head to her left and rolled her eyes at her friend.

"Did you even listen to anything I said?" Eve asked Barbie. Barbie just shook her head.

"Not really. I'm sorry, it's just that this book is really good," the blonde smiled sheepishly. Eve just shook her head knowingly.

"Okay, fair enough. So anyway, did you see who Student Council is gonna elect for Homecoming Court? Michelle and the Pathetic Posse of Alicia and Layla are up for Queen." Eve laughed to herself. "I can't wait to see Michelle exile them from the team when she finds out. She can't stand when anybody steals her spotlight."

"Michelle is on Student Council, remember?" Barbie interjected. "That means she had a say in it. Who's up for King?"

"Randy Orton, John Cena and Mike Mizanin. How am I supposed to vote for just one when they're all so hot? Every year it's the hottest seniors and we're faced with this same dilemma."

"I vote for whoever isn't the biggest dick... so I guess Mike is out of the question." Sure, Mike was attractive, but that doesn't mean anything when he tells people to call him the Miz and calls himself the Awesome One. It was so annoying.

She thought about voting for John Cena – he was so nice to everyone, not just her. And their families had been friends since about the dawn of time. But what about Randy Orton? He had just flirted with her yesterday on the field. Maybe he'd have her vote.

"Miz is less of a dick than Randy Orton. Although Randy is the hottest of all three, which is why I think you should go after him at the party that the Bella's are having Friday. I totally saw him flirting with you at practice yesterday," said Eve. The tall girl threw her blonde friend a grin as she slowed down her pace on her treadmill.

Barbie laughed and stuck her bookmark in her textbook. It was definitely a nice change of pace having Randy come onto her rather than having to admire him from afar.

"I didn't know the twins were having a party. Do you think Randy will be there?"

"Is the Pope a Catholic? Randy was practically the first person invited. In fact, he probably _was_ the first person invited. And his dad owns the liquor store and he's donating a keg." Eve flipped her hair over her shoulder and stepped off the exercise machine, before removing the cap to her water bottle and taking a sip.

"Really? I had _no _idea," Barbie retorted sarcastically. Without failure, every single time Randy and party were mentioned in the same sentence, the fact that his dad owned the liquor store in the strip mall plaza was brought up. "Although that's so dumb that his dad is willingly giving a bunch of high school kids some beer. He could get arrested and pay like, $50,000 in fines if he's caught."

"I guess it's a good thing that he's not going to get caught then," Eve said pointedly. "You're such a goody two-shoes. It's inspiring." Eve placed a hand on her heart. "You are like the Patron Saint of the Perfect."

"Okay, enough," said the blonde as she turned off the elliptical machine and took a shaky step off – maybe she had worked a little too hard. Barbie took her heavy textbook off of the book rack where she had been reading it and wiped a bead of sweat away from forehead. "I think I needed that, you know, to work off some steam in an environment without the Patron Saint of the Bitches." Yeah, she was still fuming at how Michelle had treated her yesterday, and probably would be until the older girl apologized. In other words, she'd be angry forever.

"Michelle has it coming, I'm telling you. Someone is going to freak on her and I can't wait to be witness to it," Eve grinned as the two started the walk out of the gym. It was dark outside, but the bright gym sign lit up the sidewalk and the parking lot so that they could see. "See you tomorrow!"

"See you!" They parted ways, Eve towards her massive black Cadillac Escalade and Barbie towards her Lincoln. She watched as Eve maneuvered her car out of the parking lot; it was just too big for her. That reminded her of yesterday in the lunch line, when Phil made a crack about Eve hitting his mailbox.

It was 9:30 when the blonde parked her car in her driveway. She sighed before grabbing her book and heading inside the house. All of the lights inside of the house were still on.

"Hey," Connie greeted her when Barbie entered the kitchen.

"Hi, Mom," she responded, taking a seat at the table and grabbing a banana from the fruit bowl. The day had taken a lot out of her and she was exhausted.

"I was wondering where you were. Gina Calhoun from Titan Cheer called at around 7, looking for you. It sounds like they're really interested to have you back on the team this winter."

Every fall, when the high school squad finished the cheer season, Barbie typically joined the regional team, Extreme Titan Cheer. They were a pretty good travel team, and competed in a lot of tournaments throughout each winter. She absolutely loved cheering, whether it was for the high school or for competition, but it drained all of her free time and her grades really took a hit as a result. There was just no time to devote to school when you were all over the state. The lack of time was the reason that she had quit gymnastics two years ago; that and an injury left her with no desire to train anymore. She couldn't see herself doing another winter of cheering for Titan.

"I don't know if I want to." The blonde set down the banana and looked up at her mom. "I don't think I will."

"You quit gymnastics and now you're going to quit cheering? I don't want to see you let go of everything that you like to do," said Connie. "At this rate, you're not going to be involved in anything."

"I quit gymnastics because I injured my tailbone and I couldn't train anymore! It's not like I had a choice. I'm not saying I won't go back to Titan, I'm just saying I don't know if I will." She stood up and went up the stairs to her room, completely shutting down for the night. Her mother was so infuriating sometimes.

Her phone buzzed from in her pocket and she pulled out and read the alert.

**Brie Bella**

TITAN CALLED! Did they call you? Are you doing it?

Barbie replied with '_I don't know_' before falling asleep for the night, pushing everything from her mind.

It was lunch time on Thursday and the cafeteria was as loud as ever. Barbie and Eve were in line getting their food, and once they had been served they headed towards their usual table. Michelle was standing at her seat and stared at the others until they all sat down.

"What?" Eve demanded.

"I thought you'd never ask," Michelle replied in the sickly sweet way that made everyone's skin crawl. "There will be a mandatory cheer meeting for everyone who is or was involved with Extreme Titan Cheer at my house, today after school. As in directly after school. If you don't come, you're off both squads." She sat down in her chair and opened her salad, ignoring the incredulous looks from her teammates.

"You don't have any authority over Titan!" exclaimed Eve.

"What if you weren't on the competition team?" asked Layla from beside Michelle. She was looking at Michelle in a pleading way, wordlessly begging to be involved. Michelle turned her head and stared daggers at Layla.

"Then you don't show up. 'Kay?"

Barbie was too lost in her own thoughts to worry about Layla and Michelle's problems. She had tutoring after school today, so how was she going to make both her session in the library and the cheerleading meeting? It wasn't going to work unless Phil Brooks was able to change the time.

"I can't make it," Barbie announced, as fearlessly as she could make herself seem.

"And why the hell not?" Michelle snapped back immediately, stabbing her salad with her plastic fork.

"I have this...thing," is how she responded. She knew she was in for it now. Michelle was not one to compromise, especially with her least favorite person on her entire team. A chance to make Barbie miserable was a chance Michelle was going to take.

"Look, Barbara. Unlike you, some girls on this team are actually dedicated and not just a bunch of lazy airheads. Do you think Layla wants to see you toss this meeting aside like it means nothing to you, while she can't even come because she's not good enough for Titan?" Shocked glances were exchanged by everyone at the table. "You are so inconsiderate, Barbara. First you can't keep your hands off of Zack Ryder, and now you're too good to come to this meeting."

"Michelle, STOP." It was Eve who had yelled. She caught herself though, and she tried to become composed.

"Both of you better be at my house at 2:30 sharp or you're gone. 'Kay?" That was the final word from the team captain, who removed her fork from her salad and began to eat. Nobody said another word. Each girl was simply too surprised to say much of anything. The Bellas sent Barbie sympathetic glances, but no words were spoken.

Barbie herself was in a trance. Did that seriously just happen? Could Michelle be that delusional? It seemed impossible, but she had just witnessed it with her own two eyes. And yet she still had to find Phil Brooks and ask to reschedule, lest she be kicked off the team. She pulled out her phone and sent a text to Eve, even though they were sitting right next to each other.

_Do you have Phil Brooks's number? Don't ask._

**Eve Torres**

Punk? Yeah, of course... although I'm curious. Are you OK? I can't believe she blew up on you like that. She's insane. Anyway, it's 555-6660.

Barbie thanked her and opened a new message, where she typed in his number.

_Hi it's Barbie Blank. I am so sorry but something came up and I can't make it to tutoring after school. But maybe we can reschedule? Let me know!_

Almost immediately a reply came through.

**555-6660**

Does it have anything to do with Michelle McCool losing her shit? I'm pretty sure the entire east coast heard her.

_Yeah, pretty much. She's crazy, and the reason I can't make it after school._

**555-6660**

Tomorrow is fine with me if it's fine with you.

She sighed; tomorrow was Friday, also known as the one day a week where nothing could be scheduled.

_Tomorrow's the game! And then I'm doing stuff afterward. Saturday or Sunday?_

**555-6660**

Alright, this is ridiculous. I'm coming to your table in 3...2...

Oddly enough, he did show up at exactly that moment. She turned in her seat to see him standing above her. He was about to sit down but she suddenly grabbed his wrist.

"Um..." she panicked, "Let's go out in the hall." She stood and dragged him out of the cafeteria.

"Princess, princess, princess. If you wanted to hold my hand, you should've just asked."

"_So_ not funny," she muttered just before they reached the cafeteria entrance. Once they were in the lobby of the school, she turned to him. They just looked at each other for a moment before he glanced down. Barbie looked down and saw that she was still holding his wrist. She dropped it suddenly, but not before looking at the tattoos that decorated his arm and even his fingers. She didn't catch what they were. "Um, so anyway. Tonight, not good. Tomorrow, really not good. So this weekend?"

"I work both days. Let's just continue on Wednesday, alright? Don't stress." He paused and took a moment to study her face, and was about to say something else, but was interrupted from a voice coming down the stairs to the right.

"Blondie!" Barbie turned her head, and was met with the really large figure of John Cena. She smiled at him. "Sorry to interrupt. Hey, Punk."

"Cena," Phil nodded his head.

"Just wanted to check with Barbie here to make sure what time her mom wanted my family over tonight."

Barbie racked her brain for anything that would explain what in the world he was talking about. "Uh... I'm sorry, John, but I don't really know what you mean." She didn't remember her mom saying anything about the Cenas coming over.

"For dinner. Tonight. I don't know, maybe my mom just made it up." John shrugged, but with his build, it looked more like he was flexing.

"No! I just don't think Mom remembered to tell me. I'm sure anytime will be fine, but I'll probably be late. I have this... thing after school. But I'll be there." She grinned.

"You'd better be! See you later, Blondie. Later, Punk." And then John was gone. Barbie sighed.

"It's like one thing after another anymore. I can't even keep tabs on anything!" she yelled out, frustrated. She ran a manicured hand through her fluffy blonde hair and closed her eyes, trying to hold tears back

"Hey," Phil said before placing a hand on her shoulder. She opened her eyes, and her vision was blurry, but she saw that his knuckles read 'Drug Free.' "Come on, calm down. It's alright."

"You must think I'm pathetic," she smiled sheepishly, rubbing at her eyes. "Every time you see me, I'm freaking out over nothing." She let out a shaky breath and blinked a few times, pulling herself together.

"Not pathetic. A little neurotic, but not pathetic." He still hadn't moved his hand from her shoulder. "But wouldn't you know, I kind of like it." Her face flushed which seemed to give him some sort of satisfaction. "You're cute."

She cleared her throat, still pink in the face. "So, um, anyway. Tutoring."

"Right. I'll just see you Wednesday, like we'd planned. See you around, Princess!" And like that, he was gone. Barbie watched as Phil walked back into the cafeteria, before following him in.

**I totally love them, and I love writing about them! Aren't they the best? This is just the beginning of them, so if it seems like their time together is a little sporadic, don't fret because it's definitely coming. Are you guys excited for dinner with the Cenas, Michelle's meeting, and the crowning of Homecoming Court?! See you next time!**


End file.
